A bankruptcy court approved the sale of Rite Aid's pharmacy benefit manager Elixir Solutions to MedImpact Healthcare Systems.
The would-be transaction with MedImpact, an independent PBM, was approved Tuesday by U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey Chief Judge Michael B. Kaplan. Rite Aid first announced it would sell Elixir to MedImpact for $575 million when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter and is subject to customary closing conditions.
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“We are continuing to make progress with our court-supervised process and are moving forward with our Rite Aid 2.0 Plan. We remain focused on providing leading healthcare products and services to the customers that we serve every day,” Rite Aid CEO and Chief Restructuring Officer Jeffrey Stein said in a news release.
Elixir operates mail and specialty pharmacies, prescription discount programs and an adjudication platform to offer cost savings. Industry analysts have said selling the PBM could allow Rite Aid to invest in other areas, possibly through community partnerships or enhanced telehealth services.
Rite Aid, which operates about 1,900 retail pharmacies in 17 states, has been shuttering hundreds of locations in recent years and is expected to close at least another 154 stores as part of its restructuring.